Heavy summer rainfall induces significant soil erosion and shallow landslide activity on the loess hillslopes of the Xining Basin at the northeast margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This study examines the mechanical effects of five native shrubs that can be used to reduce shallow landslide activity. We measured single root tensile resistance and shear resistance, root anatomical structure and direct shear and triaxial shear for soil without roots and five root- soil composite systems. Results show that Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt. possessed the strongest roots, followed by Caragana korshinskii Kom., Zygophyllum xanthoxylon (Bunge) Maxim., Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. and Lycium chinense Mill. Single root strength and shear resistance relationships with root diameter are characterized by power or exponential relations, consistent with the Mohr- Coulomb law. Root mechanical strength reflects their anatomical structure, especially the percentage of phloem and xylem cells, and the degree and speed of periderm lignifications. The cohesion force of root- soil composite systems is notably higher than that of soil without roots, with increasing amplitudes of cohesion force for A. canescens, C. korshinskii, Z. xanthoxylon, N. tangutorum and L. chinense of 75.9%, 75.1%, 36.2%, 24.6% and 17.0 % respectively. When subjected to shear forces, the soil without root samples show much greater lateral deformation thanthe root-soil composite systems, reflecting the restraining effects of roots. Findings from this paper indicate that efforts to reduce shallow landslides in this region by enhancing root reinforcement will be achieved most effectively using A. canescens and C. korshinskii.
HU Xia-songBRIERLEY GaryZHU Hai-liLI Guo-rongFU Jiang-taoMAO Xiao-qingYU Qin-qinQIAO Na
Moisture and salt content of soil are the two predominant factors influencing its shear strength. This study aims to investigate the effects of these two factors on shear strength behavior of loess in the Xining Basin of Northeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where such geological hazards as soil erosion, landslides collapse and debris flows are widespread due to the highly erodible loess. Salinized loess soil collected from the test site was desalinized through salt-leaching in the laboratory. The desalinized and oven-dried loess samples were also artificially moisturized and salinized in order to examine how soil salinity affects its shear strength at different moisture levels. Soil samples prepared in different ways(moisturizing, salt-leaching, and salinized) were measured to determine soil cohesion and internal friction angle. The results show that salt-leaching up to 18 rounds almost completely removed the salt content and considerably changed the physical components of loess, but the soil type remained unchanged. As salt content increases from 0.00% to 12.00%, both the cohesion and internal friction angle exhibit an initial decrease and then increase with salt content. As moisture content is 12.00%, the salt content threshold value for both cohesion and internal friction angle is identified as 3.00%. As the moisture content rises to 16.0% and 20.00%, the salt content threshold value for cohesion is still 6.00%, but 3.00% for internal friction angle. At these thresholds soil shear strength is the lowest, below which it is inversely related to soil salinity. Beyond the thresholds, however, the relationship is positive. Dissimilar to salinity, soil moisture content exerts an adverse effect on shear strength of loess. The findings of this study can provide a valuable guidance on stabilizing the engineering properties of salinized loess to prevent slope failures during heavy rainfall events.
FU Jiang-taoHU Xia-songLI Xi-laiYU Dong-meiLIU Ya-binYANG You-QingQI Zhao-xinLI Shu-xia
降雨是诱发土质边坡失稳的主导因素之一,研究降雨入渗对土质边坡稳定性的影响有着重要意义。以青海西宁盆地黄土边坡为例,结合野外现场试验和室内直剪试验,研究了降雨入渗对坡体含水量和抗剪强度的影响,采用FLAC2D软件模拟分析了降雨前后边坡的应力、位移分布特征,并通过计算安全系数对边坡进行稳定性评价。研究结果表明,雨水入渗150 min内边坡表层土层含水量急剧增加,150 min后其变化趋势逐步变缓,较深层土层含水量随雨水入渗时间呈持续缓慢增加的趋势。对于同一层土体而言,雨水入渗深度随降雨历时的增大而增加,且表层土体中雨水入渗速度先快后慢。表层土体含水量每增加1.01%,其粘聚力减小13.53 k Pa,土体抗剪强度降低16 k Pa,说明土体抗剪强度对含水量的变化极为敏感。二维有限元模拟和分析结果表明,在自重应力作用和雨水入渗条件下,研究区坡脚处出现应力集中现象,且降雨后边坡位移量、应力集中范围及应力大小明显大于降雨前,而降雨后边坡稳定安全系数比降雨前降低了21.6%,说明降雨入渗对边坡的稳定性影响较大。
